Where Are You Now, Bowe Bergdahl?
Bowe has been the shy and retiring type since his exchange for five Taliban leaders seven years ago. So where’s Bowe?: Bowe knows! but not me. Said Taliban have been anything but retiring, however. When they were released Obama said they would never return to the battlefield again: TRUE! There was no battle to speak of in Afghanistan, but these guys sure enough showed up for the victory parade–as part of the Taliban leadership.
I questioned at the time trading multiple Taliban leaders for one American loser/deserter. The exchange rate comes to mind given that the Taliban now have their hands on many Americans who did not desert, but were abandoned by the US. Do you seriously think the Taliban–or even less savory elements in Afghanistan–will not extract an even higher price for them?
This thought is intensified by observation of a brisk and strange traffic in recent days. If you’ve followed flight tracking services, you may have noticed many unidentified Boeing 767 flights between various US-related origins (e.g., DC, Rammstein) and Sofia, Bulgaria, and Sofia, Bulgaria and Doha, Qatar. That is, flights without call signs or aircraft IDs. Qatar, moreover, is facilitating the reopening of the Kabul airport. Connect the dots.
What is on those flights? Guns? Money? Not likely lawyers (too bad!), but perhaps human cargo approved by lawyers? Apparently just as United hubs out of Houston, the CIA runs a hub out of Sofia. Why? For what purpose?
Afghanistan’s current overlords have substantial leverage over the US. No doubt they are exploiting it to the hilt. If we gave up so much for Bowe Bergdahl, consider what we would–and likely have–given up for Taliban forbearance during our withdrawal, and will give up for continued forbearance and future human exchanges.
Once upon a time “millions [update to ‘trillions’] for defense, not one cent for tribute” was an American battle cry. Once upon a time. No more. We are almost certainly paying massive tribute to entities far more sinister than the Bey of Algiers or the revolutionary government of France. In secret–secret from the citizens of the US, that is.
The humiliation continues and will continue.
It’s not humiliation, Craig. It’s betrayal.
Comment by Pat Frank — September 4, 2021 @ 7:17 pm
Maybe they’re rendition flights for the all those QAnon conspirators who took part in “1-6” (aka the Sh*t Revolution)?
Seriously though, if you knew anything about all those virtual radar websites it would be that many, many aircraft do not appear on them at all, and that civilian aircraft IDs are often blocked for many and varied reasons. And if you knew anything about the US military presence in Europe, you’d know that the likes of Kalita, Atlas etc operate civilian airliners in its service all the time. Any uptick in activity is not noteworthy in the slightest – again, it could be for a multitude of reasons.
Also, any news on these alleged hostages? Have any names come up yet? Seems awfully quiet on this front.
Comment by David Mercer — September 5, 2021 @ 6:05 am
Has anyone troubled to explain why all that materiel was left behind with little or no attempt at destruction? Even little boys know you must always spike the guns.
Comment by dearieme — September 5, 2021 @ 10:20 am
@dearieme…Suppose you wanted to affect the transfer of billions of dollars worth of weapons, munitions, and intelligence to the Taliban. Would you just deliver it? Or would you use the fog of a sudden abandonment to cover your story?
Every grunt knows the sequence in an abandonment. Get out the loyals and citizens; destroy all the contact information; destroy the material; destroy the airfield on your way out. You don’t need to be a Pentagon grifter who has plundered the military/foreign aid pipeline your entire career to understand that.
The public is upset at this ‘blunder’, but it is no blunder at all. It was calculated. Sleepy’s handlers have done things similar beforehand.
In addition, CCP reps were in Kabul the week before this catastrophe. I’d bet they were informing their new pals on the coming presents they were going to pick up, and laying plans that China get the good stuff to take back and reverse engineer..
And those citizens abandoned? What American heart would say no to any ransom. So there is the cover to make further $$$ concessions to those medieval cretins.
$1.5 buys a lot, doesn’t it?
Comment by Richard Whitney — September 5, 2021 @ 4:09 pm
@dearime ….. just hang on the mercer will explain all….
Comment by Sandy K — September 5, 2021 @ 5:56 pm
@RW: “As Horowitz and Greenfield come very close to saying, if the Pentagon were working for the enemy, what would they have done differently?”
https://www.steynonline.com/11669/defeat-and-dishonesty
Comment by dearieme — September 6, 2021 @ 5:34 am
@dearieme…Thanks for that link.
A retired Chinese general wrote a book, “Unrestricted Warfare” in which he details the Chinese strategy to conquer the United States. He spends some time detailing the overwhelming superiority of the U.S. military and sensibly concludes that military conquest is not a good idea. He specifies using spies, compromising U.S. politicians, and using bioweapons. Sound familiar?
In the meantime, acquiring advanced U.S. military material helps to get them to even. What can you do when an entire ruling class is composed of traitors?
Comment by Richard Whitney — September 6, 2021 @ 6:15 am
@RW: the whole Western World is in trouble. Except maybe Switzerland, and it won’t survive the downfall of the rest of us. Will Japan be the last redoubt of the west? That would be ironic. Or maybe Uruguay?
Comment by dearieme — September 6, 2021 @ 7:33 am
This is a glorious time, everything s being exposed (thank Trump), education, health, military, sports, you name it, the fifty year oligarchy rule is almost at end.
Don’t give up on the US just yet.
Comment by Joel Walker — September 6, 2021 @ 9:05 am
@Joel. “The worse, the better”? I admit to thinking that sometimes.
Comment by cpirrong — September 6, 2021 @ 7:40 pm